Photo blogs I visit frequently

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I learned about love from you,Watching your caring ways.I learned about joy from youIn fun-filled yesterdays.

From you I learned forgivingOf faults both big and small.I learned what I know about livingFrom you, as you gave life your all.

The example you set is still with meI'd never want any other.I'm thankful for all that you taught me,And I'm blessed to call you "MotherEven though i can't see youI know I am blessed by youI do miss you I love you my mom

Monday, February 23, 2009

May your charming face ever shine like the full moon;May you hold eternal sways over the domains of beauty.By your amorous glance you have killed a poor man like me;How magnanimous of you? May God give you a long life

Pray do not be cruel lest you should feel ashamed of yourselfbefore your lovers on the Day of Judgment.I shall be set free from the bonds of the two worldsif you become my companion for a while.

By your wanton playfulness you must have destroyedThousands of hearts of lovers like that of mine

Meeting you was pure destiny,You and I were meant to be.May be not nowbut someday soon,We'll meet not under the sunbut beneath the moon.cry, complain & romance till dawnWe'll watch the stars'till they fade away,but we won't fadetogether we'll always stay.This is the day I'm waiting for,from that dayI'll love you more and more.I can't wait to watchthe sun set with you,every sunset from that day'till the rest of our lives are through.I still yearn for you.....

Friday, February 20, 2009

Doon Valley: My favorite place on globe, here I squandered many years of my existence. This is view of ‘Queen of Hills’ Mussoorie, (Hindi: मसूरी Masūrī) is a city and a municipal board, about 34 km from Dehradun district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand

This hill station, situated in the foothills of the Himalaya ranges Being at an average altitude of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft), Mussoorie, with its green hills and varied flora and fauna, is a fascinating hill resort. Commanding snow ranges to the north-east, and glittering views of the Doon Valley and Shiwalik ranges in the south, the town was once said to present a 'fairyland' atmosphere to tourists.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The pic taken at Jim Corbett National Park, Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India: The Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) is a passerine bird found in Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia from Pakistan and India through to southeast Asia and China. It has been introduced and has established itself in the wild in many other parts of the world.

The Red-whiskered Bulbul was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in 1758 in his Systema Naturae. He placed it along with the shrikes under Lanius.Local names include Turaha pigli-pitta in Telugu, Sipahi bulbul in Bengali, Phari-bulbul/Kanera bulbu in Hindi Several geographic races are named

DescriptionThe Red-whiskered Bulbul is about 20 cm (7 in) in length. It has brown upper-parts and whitish underparts with buff flanks and a dark spur running onto the breast at shoulder level. It has a tall pointed black crest, red face patch and thin black moustachial line. The tail is long and brown with white terminal feather tips, but the vent area is red.

This passerine feed on fruits (including those of Thevetia peruvianathat are toxic to mammals), nectar and insects. The loud and evocative call is a sharp kink-a-joo, and the song is a scolding chatter. It is more often heard than seen, but will often perch conspicuously especially in the mornings when they call from the tops of trees. The life span is about 11 years.

Hybrids have been noted in captivity with Pycnonotus cafer, Pycnonotus leucotis, Pycnonotus xanthopygos, Pycnonotus melanicterus and Pycnonotus leucogenys. and albinism is known. several avian malaria parasites have been described from the species

Subspecies

jocosus, the nominate subspecies, is found in Hong Kong

fuscicaudatus in peninsular India has nearly complete breast band and no white tip to tail

abuensis of northwestern India is pale and has a broken breast band and no white tip to tail

pyrrhotis of the terai is pale above with white tail tips and widely separated breast bandemeria of Eastern peninsula and Ganges Delta is warm brown above with a slim bill and a long crest (also introduced into Florida

whistleri is found in the Andaman Islands

monticola is found in northeastern India

pattani is found in Thailand

peguensis not always recognized was described from southern Burma

Distribution and habitatThis is a bird of lightly wooded areas, more open country with bushes and shrubs, and farmland. Irruptions have been noted from early times with Thomas C. Jerdon noting that they "periodically visiting Madras and other wooded towns in large flocks."It has established itself in Australia, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Florida in the United States, and in the Mauritius, Assumption Island and Mascarene Islands.The Red-whiskered Bulbul was introduced by the Zoological and Acclimatization Society in 1880 to Sydney, and were well established across the suburbs by 1920, and have slowly spread to around 100 km away. It is also found in suburban Melbourne and Adelaide, although it is unclear how it got there.